‘Positively horrible’.The two words from my dance teacher–Yana Lewis that evokes laughter every time but also makes me push myself beyond the limits.Because if you say I can’t do it, I will make sure I try my hardest to not fail in proving you wrong. And I, for one, did not want to be a ‘positively horrible’. I am Pooja …
Choreography : Creating a dance that you can call yours
It is Thursday and I am teaching my normal class as part of foundation’s Outreach&Education programme at Snehadaan. I split the students into groups, and ask them to make a small phrase of choreography to the lyrics of a Hindi song that one of my friends gave me. As the second group starts performing, something about their movement catches my …
From ballerina to a robot in Ex Machina
You must be wondering what do ballerinas have to do with a psychological sci-fi thriller, one of the best in recent times. No, it doesn’t dazzle the viewers with ultra-high special effects, but what is captivating in the movie are the actors’ portrayal of the characters which is nothing short of spellbinding on a hot topic of recent times – Artificial Intelligence …
Pelvic alignment in yoga, ballet and life.
In order to gain the most out of any practice that requires precision of the muscles, joints, bones and ligaments of the body, the physical alignment of the body is vital. This is highlighted both in Iyengar yoga and ballet – classes which also provide good lessons on how to stand, walk and sit outside the studio, in order to …
Callanetics: a ‘no drama’ route to fitness?
Callanetics-the new entry in my personal dictionary of ‘ good words for life’. In my search to understand its roots, I came across this wonderful guest book created in memory of its founder Callan Pinckney.Pages after pages, Callanetics practitioners from across the world have expressed their gratitude to Callan for creating this non-aerobic exercise. Said to be popular in the …
Jazz it up!
If I am asked to explain about all the different styles I learnt in my first Jazz class at the Foundation, it would go something like this. ‘’There is excitement written all over my face as I enter the studio. Jazz , I am told, is one form of dancing that wears many faces because of the vast number of …